Japanese Shoes: Bespoke & RTW Super Thread

[ezlau]

I was thinking Feb-March period when I'm visiting home (Malaysia). Funny how Malaysia has Isetan too, but the Isetan there sells total rubbish.

 

[chogall]

They always cator to the local market. Isetan outside of Tokyo don't have that great of a selection either, in Fukuoka, or in Hangzhou.

If Yen goes down further I will seriously budget for Marquese bespoke; it's "on my way home". lol

Cheapest non American bespoke for me is still G&G. Cost of getting JLParis is almost certainly cheaper than getting Delos or anything in UK/Italy if I take traveling cost into account.

 

[nutcracker]



They always cator to the local market. Isetan outside of Tokyo don't have that great of a selection either, in Fukuoka, or in Hangzhou.

If Yen goes down further I will seriously budget for Marquese bespoke; it's "on my way home". lol

Cheapest non American bespoke for me is still G&G. Cost of getting JLParis is almost certainly cheaper than getting Delos or anything in UK/Italy if I take traveling cost into account.

 

[Fang66]

What is wrong with eating whale meat, for example?

Well, it depends if you agree with the hunting of whales in principle.  I don't.  Chogall's "no waste" point makes sense, but I'd feel hypocritical to do that when I'm against the practice in general.

I'm not against whale hunting in principle any more than I'm against hunting any other wild species. If they were threatened or endangered as a species I'd probably feel differently. Minke whales for example are not a threatened species, COSEWIC puts them in the Not At Risk category, and NatureServe lists them as G5 which means the species is secure on global range.

 

[Fang66]

Thanks for the suggestions nutcracker. I wear roughly a size 8.5E (asian feet) so not a problem at all I've been tempted to go to Japan for a sushi hunt (Jiro, and Sushisho Masa who apparently is better than Jiro). Might also go on a shopping spree while I'm there (Ring Jacket and shoes). What do you suggest is the best time to visit Japan?

Sure thing!

well..... the yen seems to get weaker each day, so thats good news for you
The monsoon / rainy season starts from early June and ends early July......you may want to avoid this period.
Summer sales tend to start early July. Isetan already announced they are having theirs on July 17 this year

Pencilled into my calendar.

 

[mimo]

I'm not against whale hunting in principle any more than I'm against hunting any other wild species. If they were threatened or endangered as a species I'd probably feel differently. Minke whales for example are not a threatened species, COSEWIC puts them in the Not At Risk category, and NatureServe lists them as G5 which means the species is secure on global range.

I do respect that there is room for debate on this issue, and from the conservation point of view, I know the numbers and status are hotly contested. I'm sure the truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle!

But my personal objection goes beyond the endangerment or otherwise of whale species: I disapprove both of the principle of harvesting animals of higher intelligence (which I accept is also an area of great debate!), and of the methods used to kill whales. A seal can be shot in the head, and have its skull crushed in an instant with a specialist tool to make sure. But killing a whale is a lengthy, extremely painful and no doubt terrifying ordeal for the animal in question. Essentially, I think that the killing of any animal should avoid that animal's suffering more than an instant of pain, or awareness of its demise. Were that possible with whale hunting, I might reconsider my position. But a whale is not a fish, and no slaughterhouse in Japan would be permitted to treat cows or sheep the way a whale is currently treated when hunted.

Nutty's posts above are interesting: as far as I know, seal products cannot be imported into the EU, and nor does any EU country produce them, so tanning them in Italy seems unlikely. If there is some kind of exemption, I'd be interested to know. As for the price, seal skins themselves (perhaps because of the restrictions and adverse press) are rather cheap, so the price will depend on when and how they are tanned. It is a remarkable texture. Any more information would be appreciated.

 

[nutcracker]



Nutty's posts above are interesting: as far as I know, seal products cannot be imported into the EU, and nor does any EU country produce them, so tanning them in Italy seems unlikely.  If there is some kind of exemption, I'd be interested to know.  As for the price, seal skins themselves (perhaps because of the restrictions and adverse press) are rather cheap, so the price will depend on when and how they are tanned.  It is a remarkable texture.  Any more information would be appreciated.

It does seem like the sealskin available today were all harvested pre-ban of seal hunting. I suppose they are not as scarce, as of yet.

From the Italian brand, F.lli Giacometti / Marmolada, Italy

Marmolada Mountain Boots. Black sealskin

Marmolada Mountain Boots, Red sealskin

F.lli Giacometti Bit Loafer, Red sealskin

 

[nutcracker]



Pencilled into my calendar.

It's gonna be a war zone in a hot hot day.....

 

[mimo]

Nutty, thank you.

I've looked it all up now re. EU regulations: in typical EU fashion, the exemptions make the overall ban little more than window-dressing.

Seals aren't at all scarce (at least most species, including the most hunted harp seal). The ban goes back to concerns over the methods of hunting, after campaigns in the eighties that featured fluffy white-furred harp seals being hit on the head with clubs (actually the quickest way to kill one, with a specialist tool and experienced hand). As as result, the EU and some producers like Canada, banned the hunting of the white fluffy baby ones altogether. But they're only white and fluffy for about two weeks!

The ban is on imports of any seal products, unless (and this is the good bit) they are hunted by indigenous communities as part of subsistence lifestyles (a few thousand), or as part of fisheries management programmes (hundreds of thousands, as that's how and why the hunting is licensed and quota'd in Canada, Norway etc). So most seal skins would be exempted, because they're a bi-product of a fisheries management system. There is still the issue that they're not supposed to be imported as a commercial product, but as some of the main tanneries are in Germany and Denmark, there must be a liberal interpretation of "commercial": perhaps that the production of the skins itself is not commercially profitable (it's subsidised in Canada and Norway). But either way, thousands of skins and pelts are imported into Europe under these rules, perfectly legally as long as records are kept of their origin, either tanned or for tanning. Most are sold at auction (again, tanned and untanned) in Copenhagen (I suppose because of their historical ownership and economic union with Greenland), and re-sold both in the EU and for export to Asia and Russia.

So there you go. I misread the expression "ban on seal products in the EU" as being a ban on seal products in the EU. Silly me!

 

[clee1982]



no wonder I thought you had a good posture

that's about the only good thing come out of it...

 

[nutcracker]



that's about the only good thing come out of it...

and your mastery of shoe shining....

 

[nutcracker]

Shoe Shopping in Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi has been the commercial center of Tokyo for at least several centuries. This is where the 'old money' lingers. Large financial and retail institutions line the avenue, while upscale eateries are tucked behind. While new, trendy malls have popped up here and there, Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya are still the go-to department stores for old fashioned Japanese.

BOJ...thanks for the weak yen...

On the top: Mandarin Oriental Tokyo....love that place, got some of the best panoramic views of Tokyo

Mitsukoshi Department Store, circa 1914, I call it the Japanese Macy's

Got that old world charm of historic English and American Department stores

The interior atrium....with an 11m tall Godess sculpture......

Shoe Department The space is not that big but the lineup is solid.

A.Testoni
Asakusa Seika
Bally
Bontoni
Campanile
Carmina for Meermin
Cheaney
Church's
Crockett & Jones
Ducal
Edward Green
Isetan Men's
JM Weston
John Lobb
Magnanni
Otsuka
Regal
Salvatore Ferragamo
Santoni
Sanyo Yamacho
Scotch Grain
Silvano Latanzzi
Stefano Bemer
Union Imperial
Yanko

Takashimaya circa 1933

"Sigh....one day you'll be mine....."

Shoe Lineup
A. Testoni
Alfred Sargent
Berlutti
Bollini
Crockett & Jones
Grenson
Johnston Murphy
Magnanni
Regal
Otsuka
Salvatore Ferragamo
Santoni
Scotch Grain
Union Imperial
Yanko

 

[clee1982]



and your mastery of shoe shining....

oh and ironing my shirts, almost forgot about that one

 

[Ilovelobbs]

Shoe Shopping in Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi has been the commercial center of Tokyo for at least several centuries. This is where the 'old money' lingers. Large financial and retail institutions line the avenue, while upscale eateries are tucked behind. While new, trendy malls have popped up here and there, Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya are still the go-to department stores for old fashioned Japanese.


BOJ...thanks for the weak yen...


On the top: Mandarin Oriental Tokyo....love that place, got some of the best panoramic views of Tokyo


Mitsukoshi Department Store, circa 1914, I call it the Japanese Macy's



Got that old world charm of historic English and American Department stores


The interior atrium....with an 11m tall Godess sculpture......


Shoe Department The space is not that big but the lineup is solid.

A.Testoni
Asakusa Seika
Bally
Bontoni
Campanile
Carmina for Meermin
Cheaney
Church's
Crockett & Jones
Ducal
Edward Green
Isetan Men's
JM Weston
John Lobb
Magnanni
Otsuka
Regal
Salvatore Ferragamo
Santoni
Sanyo Yamacho
Scotch Grain
Silvano Latanzzi
Stefano Bemer
Union Imperial
Yanko



Takashimaya circa 1933



"Sigh....one day you'll be mine....."



Shoe Lineup
A. Testoni
Alfred Sargent
Berlutti
Bollini
Crockett & Jones
Grenson
Johnston Murphy
Magnanni
Regal
Otsuka
Salvatore Ferragamo
Santoni
Scotch Grain
Union Imperial
Yanko

Japan/Tokyo must be the mecca for all the shoe brands in the world.

I don't think any city around the world has such a concentration of brands
in one city.

And I notice the Japanese are the biggest fan of black formal shoes.

 

[clee1982]



Shoe Shopping in Nihonbashi

Mitsukoshi Department Store, circa 1914, I call it the Japanese Macy's

Got that old world charm of historic English and American Department stores

The interior atrium....with an 11m tall Godess sculpture......

Shoe Department The space is not that big but the lineup is solid.

A.Testoni
Asakusa Seika
Bally
Bontoni
Campanile
Carmina for Meermin
Cheaney
Church's
Crockett & Jones
Ducal
Edward Green
Isetan Men's
JM Weston
John Lobb
Magnanni
Otsuka
Regal
Salvatore Ferragamo
Santoni
Sanyo Yamacho
Scotch Grain
Silvano Latanzzi
Stefano Bemer
Union Imperial
Yanko

You mean Saks and Fifth maybe, Macy has step up a lot these days (too many Chinese tourists, so they up the ante a bit, basically lots of higher end women's bag), but its shoe department will still be a far cry from what you listed here...